Lesson 17

I.       Observation

A.     Outline

Jesus and Beelzebub (11:14-28)

Casting out demons (14-26)

True blessedness (27-28)

The Sign of Jonah (11:29-32)

The Lamp of the Body (11:33-36)

Woes (11:37-54)

B.     Key Words/Phrases

Casting out a demon, marveled, Beelzebub, testing, sign, divided, finger of God, kingdom of God, strong man, with/against, gather/scatter, unclean spirit, blessed, her, word of God, keep, sign of Jonah, evil generation, judgment, repented, greater than…is here, lamp, lampstand, light, eye, outside/inside, clean, woe, justice, love, hypocrites.

II.    Segment Analysis

1. See 14-16.

2. 1. Beelzebub would not  go against his fellow demons because doing so would be self-destructive. 2. If Jesus cast out demons by Beelzebub, how would they explain their own exorcists’ power to cast out demons?

3. It was a sign that Jesus was the Messiah, and that the kingdom of God had come to the people.

4. Through His ministry and saving works, Christ overcomes Satan and renders him powerless. We must choose which side we want to be on. If we fail to accept the Lord Jesus, we are on Satan’s side and have become the enemy of Christ. By attributing Jesus’ power to Beelzebub, the people had chosen to side with the evil one.

5a. According to Matthew 12:45, the man was liken to the wicked generation. The ministry of Christ had overcome the power of Satan. But a person must decide whether to accept the Lord Jesus. Those who have witnessed the saving power of the Lord but do not invite Him into their hearts are like the house swept clean. Without Christ in their lives, they willingly make themselves the dwelling place of the evil one. Satan will once again take possession of them, and their condition would be much worse than before (cf. Heb 6:4-8).

5b. We need to accept Christ and acknowledge Him as Lord. We need to keep the word of God after hearing it (28). With Christ as the Lord of our lives, Satan would have no power over us.

6. They demanded a sign to test if Jesus was indeed the Messiah. Such testing came from a heart of disbelief. They had just witnessed a great miracle, but they still refused to acknowledge the Lord.

7a. According to Matthew 12:40, Jonah was a sign because he was delivered from the belly of the fish. Here in Luke, the sign may also refer to Jonah’s preaching (cf. 32). Both the miraculous deliverance and the preaching testified that Jonah was sent from God. The Ninevites accepted this sign and responded to Jonah’s warning.

7b. The powerful ministry of Christ and His miraculous deeds testified that He was the Messiah. Not only so, His death, burial, and resurrection would be the ultimate proof that He was the Son of God.

8. If the queen of the South traveled such a great distance to hear Solomon’s words of wisdom, and if the Ninevites responded to Jonah’s brief preaching, how great would the people’s sins be if they refuse to hear or respond to the preaching of the Son of God?

9. We need to open our spiritual eye to the truth of the gospel by being receptive to the message we hear.

11. True cleanliness has to do with our hearts and our lives, not ceremonial observances. It involves removing the greed and wickedness in our hearts as well as helping the needy.

12a. They paid attention to external things that others could easily see and enjoyed men’s praise but neglected living a life pleasing to God.

13a. According to OT law, touching the grave or the dead made a person ceremonially unclean (Num 19:16). While the Pharisees were careful not to become ceremonially defiled, they themselves had become the cause of spiritual defilement by their hypocrisy.

13b. If our hearts are wicked and we live immorally but put on a false   outward piety, others would follow our hypocritical example and believe that doing so was right. That is how many corrupt religious leaders have misled their sincere followers.

14a. An appearance of honoring the martyrs.

14b. By killing the beloved Son, these people showed that they approved what their forefathers had done (cf. Mt 21:33-44; 23:29-32).

15. Being experts in the law of God, these lawyers exercised certain authority and influence among the people by way of their knowledge. But by opposing the work of Christ, they shut up the kingdom of heaven from others (Mt 23:13). Their knowledge had become a hindrance for those who wanted to enter eternal life.